FussyDuck wrote:
I once had explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting at the same time. I managed to poop by hovering and projectile vomit successfully across the bathroom into the sink as the bath tub/shower were across and unreachable.

Considering the amount of noxious semi-fluids that came out of me, I had next to no cleaning up.

Just bought some glasses which block blue light and are anti reflective and anti glare. I spend almost all day on a computer at work and Iíve been getting a lot of migraines and having trouble sleeping through.

So far Iíve had no migraines and Iíve actually managed to sleep through a couple of nights for the first time in years. Might be coincidence, but Iíll carry on wearing my nhs style tinted glasses for a while longer. I mean, the women love the look, so why wouldnít I?

Not sure if this will help people, but I went gluten free three weeks ago and the results have been noticeable. Iíve tried to be quite critical during this trial, but so far so good. I even took some gluten to check if my improvements regressed which they did.

Improvements are:

No more brain fog. Had this for years and itís been getting more noticeable. So much so that I was worrying that it was age related. Anyway, my mind is clear again and Iím much sharper.

Mood improvements: my mood is much much better and Iím feeling far more happy and a lot less anxious. 95% of seretonin is made in the stomach so that is probably the reason as my gut biome is improving.

Sleeping: sleeping much better

Main reason Iím doing this is to kick start my gut biome and improve it. Everything Iíve read suggests the gut canít digest the long chain molecules that make up gluten and that this doesnít do your body or mind any good.

It appears these long chains damage the villi in the gut and this is progressive. It appears that destruction of villi over time may be the reason people (such as myself) are lactose intolerant as the villi are responsible for the production of lactase. No villi equals no lactase equals stuck to the toilet after touching dairy.

My mum is getting worse and worse with lactose which fits with the villi being destroyed. Sheís also got joint pain (as I have at times) which is again linked to gluten sensitivity.

Iíve tried lactose twice in the last week and seem to tolerate it better, but Iíve read it can take up to 6 months to repair all the villi. Iím also not getting cheese migraines which Iíd get without fail previously. Iím still getting chocolate ones though!

Anyway, might all be coincidental, but thought Iíd let people know the results after three weeks. Iím keeping in this diet until I see the benefits fading at which point Iíll update.

Oh and those glasses I use at work have cut my migraines down to two since. One was chocolate the other was weather related (storms cause rapid pressure changes). Thatís a hell of a lot less than before and my eyes are a lot fresher at the end of the day now.

Bloody ears are bunged up again. Spent the last week barely being able to hear anything (a godsend in some of our meetings) until night time when the silence sends me to tinnitis town. Booked in to have them vacuumed next week. $59 here though. NHS FTW.

@Dougs Thanks for the link. I was just listening to a Broken Brain podcast (#58: Eat to Beat Illness) in the car which was talking about a similar thing.

I've been using Daylio for some time to track (subjectively) my moods and since going gluten free, my mood has been at least a category improved (good vs indifferent for instance) and my mind no longer has "brain fog". I also seem to have more energy and less IBS.

It's been a month now I think (and I may be getting some trace gluten as I'm (at the moment) eating ordinary oats that I have in the house which could be cross contaminated. I'm also drinking almond milk in my porridge (much nice than I'd feared!) and I don't touch caffeine (even decaff), alcohol, cheese or chocolate (both give me migraines). I don't have much in the way of dairy and I'm not eating much processed as most of that includes gluten. I eat a lot of fruit at work and that tends to be organic.

I am pretty surprised by the difference going gluten free has made. I thought that was all nonsense to be honest, but gave it a go after my wife found an article that suggested migraines and gluten might be linked due to the effect it had on the gut biome. I thought that was probably nonsense too, but thought I'd give it a go.

Since then, I've learned of the possible link between gluten and diabetes, anxiety, inflammation, energy levels, mood, lactose intolerance and other things. I'm not sure that any of those links are proven for certain at this point, but the evidence is increasing and the lactose intolerance explanation seems to make sense.

Anyway, if nothing else, I'm trying new foods (who knew hummus crisps tasted okay?) and learning new skills (becoming a dab hand at baking gluten free bread) and I'm feeling better in myself. I think a month is a bit long for that sense of physical and mental well being to be coincidental, but I'll see.

Since then, I've learned of the possible link between gluten and diabetes, anxiety, inflammation, energy levels, mood, lactose intolerance and other things. I'm not sure that any of those links are proven for certain at this point, but the evidence is increasing and the lactose intolerance explanation seems to make sense.

My personal feeling regarding lactose intolerance, backed up by some science, is that only a certain number of people are lactose tolerant genetically while others have a potentially temporary enzyme for breaking down the lactase. This temporary enzyme can be wiped out by antibiotics and other drugs that are bad for the gut.

I am specifically cow milk intolerant, which is strange but this has been something that developed later in life.

I stopped dairy a while ago too, the difference it made to my mental state, weight, energy levels etc was remarkable. I was an absolute mess as I gradually became less tolerant as I got older, I couldnít barely get out of bed some days and when I did I just had one constant panic attack. The doctor advised it could be chronic fatigue so I just ploughed on as best as I could. My eldest daughter used to make a joke about daddy being smelly because I could let rip with monster gas from time to time, lucky she did because that got me looking into food intolerances. Went cold turkey on dairy and transformed overnight, an absolutely incredible reaction

@GuybrushFreepwood Sorry if this is stating the obvious, but did you consider that you might actually be coeliac? You can ask to be tested for it if not.

I totally understand people being dismissive about gluten-free diets when they're presented as the latest health fad, but since Mrs. Hedben was diagnosed coeliac a couple of years ago I've come to understand that for some people it's an actual medical condition that's kept in check with a controlled diet.

Now we're on the flipside where I get proper mardy at people who roll their eyes when I'm buying GF pasta or bread, as if I've been suckered into a more expensive lifestyle choice rather than literally buying food that would make my wife ill.

@hedben2013 no I've never been tested and didn't want (stupidly) to sound like a hypochondriac with my doctor. I've been trying to find out why I've suffered tiredness, mood swings, brain fog, migraines and anxiety in the last few years and never in a million years thought that eating bread might be responsible. I also didn't know much about coeliac and thought it was was something that gave you serious stomach problems / other allergic type reactions.

Apart from tiredness, wind sometimes and bloating, I've not really had the symptoms. When I touch dairy, then I do get the sort of things they list.

That said, I am feeling so much better since going gluten free that I will keep it in mind. I think I might be gluten sensitive, but whatever the label, I feel better now, so will be keeping off gluten for good now.

One thing that is not oft discussed where concerns gluten intolerance is what type of bread one is eating. Is it home baked with a bare minimum of ingredients or is it mass produced loaves with all the preservatives etc.?

My wife really struggles with stomach problems and has been trying to change her diet.... She's cut milk out of her cereal, but does still have it with tea. And is a sucker for cheese. Virtually cut out bread too, bar a couple of slices at the weekend. Sounds like it all needs to go. I had to steer her away from charlatan allergy testers.